August 7, 2012 - Everything You Do is Right Day
by mmooch
Summary: **Part of the 2012 LiveJournal's Twisted Shorts August Fic-A-Day** series, also known as the 'Wacky Holiday Series'. Buffy goes to see young Billy in his new life with the Pembrokes in New Jersey. *crossover with Charles in Charge*


**August 7, 2012 - ****Everything You Do is Right Day**

Summary: **Part of the 2012 LiveJournal's Twisted Shorts August Fic-A-Day** series, also known as the 'Wacky Holiday Series'. Buffy goes to see young Billy in his new life with the Pembrokes in New Jersey.

Challenge: for the livejournal 2012 August Fic-a-Day Challenge.

Warning: a little more somber than my other fics, but nothing too bad.

Timeline: post-_'Nightmares'_ for BtVS; season 1 or so for CiC, but change the dates so they line up.

Disclaimer: BtVS/AtS characters belong to Joss Whedon/Mutant Enemy. Charles in Charge characters belong to Michael Jacobs, Barbara Weisberg, Scholastic Productions, Al Burton Productions, Universal Television, MCA Television and The Program Exchange. I claim no rights to any copyrighted material. Please do not copy or take this story without my permission.

* * *

**Pembroke home**

**2 months after **_**'Nightmares'**_

"Charles, I wanted to let you know that we have company coming for the weekend. My wife's nephew has a friend from his old hometown who wants to see how he's doing. I'm 35 years old, make a good living and am worried about how Billy is doing after he lost his parents… Do you understand what I'm telling you?" Mr. Pembroke inquired as he watched his two sons and one daughter play in the yard with the young orphan.

Thinking for a moment, Charles replied, "I think so, sir. You want me to be sure this friend of Billy's is a good influence on the children?"

Mr. Pembroke nodded, then added, "That and I would like for her to like our family. I get the feeling that her opinion matters a great deal to Billy."

"It's a girl?" Charles asked, a little shocked at the news. Douglas and Jason – who were about the same age as Billy – were still of the mindset that girls were 'oogy'…although Douglas was studying them for the distant future when he would become interested in them. It would be disconcerting if Douglas wasn't approach the topic like Jane Goodall and the chimpanzees.

Gesturing for Charles to sit down, Mr. Pembroke explained, "Something you need to understand about Billy's life this past year. Shortly before Jill's brother and wife died, Billy was attacked by his little league coach. He was beaten into a coma and didn't wake up for a week."

"That's horrible!" Charles practically yelled.

"Of course it is," Mr. Pembroke agreed. "This friend of his, Buffy Summers, was the one who found out who hurt him and made sure the man confessed and went to jail. To Billy, she's practically a superhero."

Charles screwed his face up in confusion. "Wait a second…how old is Buffy?" He had been picturing a girl Billy's age, but that didn't mesh with the idea that she could make a grown man confess.

"I believe she just finished her freshman year of high school," Mr. Pembroke answered. "Her parents are divorced and she's with her father for the summer. Since he has some business to attend to in the area, she thought she would see how Billy's adapting to life with us."

"That's very nice of her, sir," Charles remarked, rather impressed with the younger teenager's sense of…responsibility? Or maybe it was friendship? Either way, it was good that Billy had somebody who cared about him.

* * *

**Sunday, three days later…**

Buffy still wasn't sure what to think of Billy's new family. Actually, they seemed great; it was their live-in nanny that gave her pause. The guy seemed almost too perfect to be true. Unfortunately, her time as a Slayer turned her cynical because she thought if he seemed too good to be true, he probably was.

It wasn't as if she obsessed over the people she saved. Heck, normally she wouldn't even remember them after a couple days.

Billy was different.

She wasn't sure if it was his age or the fact that he lost his parents the weekend before she died in the Master's lair, but she was very protective towards him.

When her dad said he was going to be in New Jersey, she jumped at the chance to go with him and look Billy's family up. It took a bit of explaining to get him to let her stay with strangers, but she promised to call every night so he knew she was okay.

The Pembroke children were busy with other activities so it was just her, Billy and Charles spending the afternoon together. Currently, they were at a Chuck E. Cheese, playing the different games around the restaurant.

Billy missed the target again, but rather than complain about the boy's throwing ability, all Charles did was insert the tokens to get more balls. It must have seemed strange to Billy, too, because he asked, "Why aren't you upset that I haven't hit anything yet?"

"Because today is March 16th, which is 'Everything You Do is Right Day'," Charles replied. Noticing the strange looks they were giving him, he added, "And the point of this is to enjoy yourself. If you're enjoying yourself, then you're doing it right in my book."

Buffy gave him points for being a better guy than that loser coach, but did he really think this would help Billy in the long run? Rather than disagree with him, she turned to Billy and offered her assistance, "If you want, I can show you how to throw it so you can get a handful of tickets."

"Really?" Billy asked, almost beaming in anticipation of the tickets he could win. "Yes, please!"

Charles watched as Buffy walked Billy through the throwing motions and felt a little chagrined. If it had been one of the Pembroke children, he would have helped them like Buffy was helping Billy. But since he didn't want to seem critical – especially in front of Buffy – he treated Billy like he wasn't strong enough for constructive criticism.

The way that Billy was soaking up Buffy's instructions taught him a valuable lesson about the boy. While the past few months of his life were horribly tragic, he was still a tough kid and should be treated like the other three children he cared for. He'd be sure to mention this to Mr. and Mrs. Pembroke when they got home later.

* * *

A/N: I know, sucks to be Billy, right? But at least he gets Chachi- er, Charles as a babysitter now.


End file.
